Page 1 of Lordes

Chapter One

LORDES

Is it possible to be born into violence and gentleness? I believe I am a product of both. Long ago I made sure I would straddle the thin line in between. When I was young everyone would say oh, he’s such a good boy. I didn’t like being dubbed good, but I refused to live a life of lawlessness. I was only a small child when I realized I didn’t want to go down the wrong path. I didn’t have a mother and I definitely didn’t have a father but I had love. One person was there for me and she was all I needed to grow, to thrive, to survive.

She protected me and sheltered me when my parents turned their backs on me. The woman who had given birth to me loved God more than she loved me. Her abandonment and neglect was what she used to make sure I knew it. To believe in any god after being dealt such a bad hand was an achievement. Somehow I didn’t turn my back on the almighty although I got close many times. I was raised Irish Catholic and that was something I just couldn’t throw away. It was one of the only things I had to hold on to when I felt alone.

Growing up I didn’t feel any need to form attachments. I was determined to need no one, depend on no one, love no one. Everything I accomplished I’d done on my own. My grades got me the scholarships. I didn’t have to take the money offered to me by a ghost, and that made me feel like a man long before my time.

The wealth I built was all mine. I reveled in the simple fact what I amassed was legit. I had been and was going to continue live on the right side of the law no matter how many negative influences that were constantly thrown in my path.

I was born on the Southside of Chicago in the Mt. Greenwood neighborhood. I place full of people with Irish ancestry. Like many Chicagoans I fled. I left that place as soon as I could. I needed to see the world, feel the world and live in the world.

After my stint in Cambridge at MIT I returned to my roots. I moved back to Chicago and I started my businesses, one at a time until I had built my own little empire. I had something to prove to this world and now I was a multi-millionaire. As an only child I’ve been alone most of my life. A few people hand a significant impact in my life but I could count them on one hand. I was currently living alone in an upscale penthouse loft since I acquired my wealth. It was a place much to big for one person but it was in a prime location. I came from very humble beginnings. Now I was a man that had a five million dollar property on the Gold Coast. Life was normal. I would never call it great. I had a steady stream of women to warm my bed when I felt the need to entertain one. Did I want more? No. I didn’t want to have this pristine life when I had never seen it and wouldn’t know how to maintain it. I liked my life just how I was and I would never let anyone come in and disrupt my peace. I was shrewd and an asshole to more than a few. I could never change because with change came sacrifice. I could only name one person that ever sacrificed for me. Sometimes I felt sorry about it but it wasn’t enough to make me be a good little boy.

* * *

My cell phone buzzed while it sat upright on my desk. The vibration jarred me away from daydreaming. I was staring out into the beautiful Chicago skyline in the middle of a clear sunny summer day. I didn’t want to answer the call but I had been dreaming for far too long. My huge corner office on the top floor was my refuge. I didn’t have anything to escape from but it felt good sitting alone without a care. After the third buzz I knew it was time to get back to work. I swiveled my chair around in a half circle and lifted my cell to glance at the screen. It was the one and only person I loved. I answered and smiled into the phone.

“Gram.”

“Lordes, are you still working?”

“Yes, Gram. It’s the middle of the day.”

“You work too hard. How many times do I have to tell you, all work and no play?”

“I know, I know.” I placed the call on speakerphone and sat the cell phone back on my desk.

“You work too much. No wife, no kids, I’m not going to live forever.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Someone could murder me. Crime is up all across the country.”

“Crime isn’t up in your neighborhood.” I reassured her.

“How do you know? You’re too busy working to see what’s going on around here.”

“I could always move you into a better neighborhood.”

“Over my dead body. I’ve lived here, in this neighborhood my whole life. My church is here. All my friends are here, the ones that are still alive.”

“Gram, you’re going to out live me.”

“Don’t lie to me, son.”

“I’m not. I believe it.”

“Well you need your head examined. I’m seventy-three years old. My days are numbered.”

“I hate when you talk like that.”

“Did you get my text message?” Gram was so proud she learned how to send text messages. She made sure to teach all her friends.

“I got it, it’s the book you want me to pick up.”

“Yes, yes, did the picture come through?”

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